Industrial manufacture of nitric acid is based on Ostwald process that is a century old. My invention uses new chemical processes that first yields a gas mixture that consists mostly of nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide; these gases then are converted into nitric acid. In the prior art, nitric acid is mainly produced by the Ostwald method. Here ammonia at high pressure and temperature reacts with oxygen, the reaction produces nitric oxide. This nitric oxide is reacted again, at room temperature with oxygen, and this reaction produces nitrogen dioxide. Nitrogen dioxide is then dissolved in water that yield nitric acid solution. The water from the nitric acid is distilled off and the remaining solution becomes concentrated nitric acid. This process requires expensive catalyst, expensive reactor vessel, energy. The other method to manufacture nitric acid is the alchemist's method. Nitrate salt is dissolved in sulfuric acid, in the liquid mixture nitric acid is formed. Nitric acid is then distilled off of the sulfuric acid.
The third method to manufacture nitric acid is by the Kleiner method that is a resent invention to produce nitric acid on industrial as well as on laboratory scale. This fourth; manufacturing nitric acid out of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is again a totally new invention. Here solid ascorbic acid is dissolved in water and brought into contact with nitrite salt solution(s). My invention does not need any catalyst, high temperature or high pressure, it does not need the nitrate salt to be soaked in sulfuric acid. The manufacture of nitric acid by reverse Kleiner method is different, even from my previous invention, besides nitric acid, by this reverse Kleiner method, one may produce important secondary products as potassium ascorbate, sodium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate barium ascorbate, silver ascorbate or isobutyl ascorbate or isoamyl ascorbate as well. The production of nitric acid by reverse Kleiner method, here the chemical reactions take place at room temperature or at some elevated temperature, it depends which nitrite is used, for the silver nitrite, the temperature will be much higher; under vacuum or at atmospheric or may be at some higher pressure, however, the pressure has the effect on the ratio of the two gases produced during the reaction run.
Manufacture of nitric acid, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide by this invention, can be easily done on very small, small as well as on industrial scale and conveniently produce, at the same time, useful ascorbate compound(s). I have to mention here; on the industrial scale using silver nitrite as the second reactant to produce the gases; nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide is not feasible unless the remaining ascorbic acid in the system is not converted into other metallic ascorbate.
In my invention the first step in producing nitric acid is really the major difference of the conventional manufacturing of nitric acid, and the chemical reactions take place in the reaction vessel, there two different chemical reaction processes take place there; on the surface area of the ascorbic acid solution pool, mostly the gases are produced; nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide. In the solution phase of the chemical reactions come into existence nitric acid, nitric oxide and the metallic ascorbate(s).
In the prior art nitric oxide is produced as mentioned earlier by oxidation of ammonia using expensive catalyst and the resent invention, the Kleiner method uses metallic nitrite solution reacting with liquid inorganic- or organic acid.
On a laboratory scale pure copper is dissolved in nitric acid; this process produces nitric oxide; this nitric oxide may then be reacted with oxygen or air yielding then nitrogen dioxide. In my invention in one step two gases; nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide are produced 1:1 or, so ratio, and also the secondary products as sodium ascorbate, potassium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate, barium ascorbate, silver ascorbate, isobutyl ascorbate, isoamyl ascorbate, depends which nitrite salt solution is used as the second reactant. If higher then atmospheric pressure is used, higher pressure may favor nitrogen dioxide formation to a certain amount. This ratio is influenced also by the concentration of the reactants too.
Pouring dilute nitric acid on iron filing will yield some nitric oxide.
In the prior art nitrogen dioxide is produced by reacting the nitric oxide obtained from a previous process. Also In my invention the two gases produced either can be separated or one turned into the other and used for producing nitric acid or both can be used as final products. These gases generated by using ascorbic acid solution reacting with nitrite solution which is my newest invention, can be easily produced on a small or on a large scale, it does not need sophisticated equipments; it is safe and very efficient.
In the prior art calcium ascorbate is manufactured by the Ruskin method; U.S. Pat. No. 2,596,103 (1952) and sodium ascorbate by the Holland method; U.S. Pat. No. 2,442,005 (1948).